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Catavino keeps you current not only with the remarkable wine developments in Spain and Portugal, two of the most dynamic wine producers on the planet, but you'll learn about food trends, new dishes and restaurants and the ancient and modern cultures on the Iberian Peninsula. And you may not notice it, but Catavino also happens to be one of smoothest designed websites you'll have the pleasure of visiting.

Starts with Goodbye, Catavino Wraps up 6 years of Iberian Wine

As many of you know, when Ryan and I married, we legally changed our last name. As I didn’t want to be called Gabriella Anderson, and he cared even less for Ryan Reynes, we opted to break social norms by designing our own surname. Having travelled through Portugal for our wedding and honeymoon, we created the name Opaz. “Paz”, in both Portuguese and Spanish means “peace”, while “O” stands for the circle of life.

What does the circle mean? Quite simply, that everything in life is cyclical. Much like the gentle evolution of the seasons, the ebb and flow of the tide, the rise and fall of the sun, everything has a beginning and end.

Catavino began from Ryan’s desire to describe the world around him when we first landed on Spanish soil in 2005. A pure and unabashed passion to chronicle that which he tasted, savored, experienced and encountered, it eventually grew to become an international resource on Spanish and Portuguese wine and food. Mind you, this wasn’t a smooth transition. It was a transition of considerable time and effort on our part. Many evenings sat in bewilderment asking the great philosophical question, “what the f*** are we doing?”, we powered on in hopes of being hit over the head with the preverbal “clue stick”. And while Catavino continued to chronicle various aspects of Spanish and Portuguese wines, foods and culture, we also began to create a vast network of opportunities that led us to create the European Wine Bloggers Conference, the Born Digital Wine Awards and a host of smaller projects that are beginning to develop their own legs and spirit.

So where does that leave us? Well, our voices are far from mute, and you’ll be hearing more from us in the near future, but for now, we want to hear from you. If you have a story about Catavino, or a moment you would like to share from the past 6 years, let us know. We’d love to put some of these treasures up on Catavino.

Mind you, we’re not going to stop writing, producing content or being involved in the wine communications world, but we want to do more. Catavino was a great experience and part of our lives, something that we take enourmous pride in, and we will miss it. But we are also excited to be starting something new. What comes next, beyond our projects with Vrazon, is yet to be decided, but you can be assured that you are not getting rid of us that easily.

By the end of November, we’ll be closing the doors, hanging up the proverbial “gone fishing” sign and taking a step towards our next adventure.

Thank you all for reading us, following along and being a part of the last 6 years. It’s been fun. And stay tuned over the coming weeks for some fun memories, a few surprises and a final farewell.

Best of luck in the future, guys. Will see you around on Twitter anyway

http://www.winetravelmedia.com/about Wink Lorch

Thank you for all the great articles you’ve published and the resource you’ve created on Spain and Portugal – if it all stays live and accessible, much will be an ongoing resource even if it will gradually go out of date.

Good luck with future projects. Know full well that you won’t go away off this internet thingy!

http://blog.edwardes.org Warren EDWARDES

Good work over the years on this. Look forward to the next chapters.

Louis

Good luck with everything and thanks for the opportunities you offered me in regards to Catavino. I really like what you are doing with Vrazon too.

http://www.delongwine.com Steve De Long

It’s sad to hear but completely understandable. It’s important to focus on what you do best (and can earn a living as well).

Just please just don’t change your names from Opaz (or Opai [pl])

I’m so proud of you guys. I’ll sign off before I get all choked up. . .

http://www.twistedoak.com El Jefe

Congrats on a great run, always better to leave people wanting more! All the best of future endeavours, we’ll be talking I’m sure

http://twitter.com/VinoPigro Elisabetta Tosi

Well, how can I say it? Life flows. And change. Simply.
But, please, do not let your readers – Spanish wine lovers – orphans of your voices! Let us know where we can reach you, and we’ll came!

http://twitter.com/VinoPigro Elisabetta Tosi

Well, how can I say it? Life flows. And change. Simply.
But, please, do not let your readers – Spanish wine lovers – orphans of your voices! Let us know where we can reach you, and we’ll came!

http://twitter.com/VinoPigro Elisabetta Tosi

…and, of course, thank you-thank you-thank you (3 times) for all you created, for all the fun and the adventures we shared with you…

http://twitter.com/haddadfrank Frank Haddad

After reading Catavinoi for around six years it will seem like losing an old friend

http://ablegrape.wordpress.com/ Doug Cook

Wow, Ryan, Gabriella, thanks for an amazing site for all these years – I can appreciate the tremendous amount of work it takes to keep something like this going (and growing), and wish you continued luck on new projects. With your talent and energy they’ll certainly be successful! See you soon!

Doug

http://twitter.com/RichardPF Richard Auffrey

Very sad news but I do wish you both the very best for all of your future endeavors. Catavino was one of the first wine blogs I read, and both of you were some of the earliest wine friends I had online. And it was a special pleasure to finally meet you in Barcelona several years ago. I’ll never forget drinking wine atop the roof of our hotel, just chatting as if we had known each other for many years.

http://twitter.com/enobytes enobytes wine online

You guys will rock it in whatever you do…all the best in your new ventures!

http://twitter.com/FortiDelVento Tomaso Armento

Big news: turning page is not easy all the time.

I take this opportunity to thank you for the great work you’ve made.

Now I stay tuned, looking forward to receiving news from your great side!

All the best,
Tom

Giampiero Nadali

As digital mutants as we are, I understand perfectly your move. So, thanks and best wishes for the next-big-leap! Salute!

http://twitter.com/insiderioja Tom Perry

Wow! That really took me by surprise. Gabriella and Ryan – you were responsible for encouraging me to start my blog when I sort of retired from the Rioja wine scene. I don’t know how to thank you. I do, however, look forward to hearing about your new endeavors.

http://www.ilkkasiren.com Ilkka Sirén

Thank you for the good times!

http://arnoldwaldstein.com awaldstein

Good luck to you guys in whatever you do.

http://www.prgrisley.com Grisley3

Well, I guess congratulations on turning a new page in the great adventures of the Opai! I’m sure your next journey will be just as successful as Catavino, and I can’t wait to see what you two get in to next. I’ll look forward to our random chance encounters in the US or in Europe- I do know where you live after all, and I’m in serious need of some rooftop BBQ time…..Cheers Ryan & Gab, thanks a million for all your help over the pst few years, you have no idea how much you’ve helped us grow!

- Michael

http://twitter.com/joseduardo Jose Eduardo

I won’t try to understand what all of this means. I just fell sad to see you leave your “baby” at such a tender age… but one must move on and face new challenges. Thanks for bringing me to the “dark side”, Gracias for the friendship, Obrigado por tudo Um abraço de boa sorte para os vossos projetos futuros! E feliz aniversário Gabi

Jeff Gullickson

Wow, it has been a fast 6 years. It was only yesterday that I was sitting with Ryan having lunch and telling him how jealous I was of the both of you heading to Spain. Looking forward to following your new adventures, and hopefully, can have the both of you down to the “farm” for a cooking adventure.

Ryan Reichert

You’ll be sorely missed here, but I know you’re both going to continue to be around (as you noted) and surely continue to do incredible things. Thanks for being such and inspiration. Best of luck. Can’t wait to see you both soon!

Bill

Thanks for all of the great articles over the past six years! Best wishes from Tami and I on your next (ad)venture.

Luciana

thx for the share your blog all these years.
can’t wait to see what you guys are up to….
let’s know!
L.

Luciana

thx for the share your blog all these years.
can’t wait to see what you guys are up to….
let’s know!
L.

http://cheapwineratings.com Tim Lemke

I know I’m late to the comment party here, I’ve been meaning to stop by for a couple weeks.

I’ll miss Catavino, but I’m sure I won’t miss you two as I know you’ll still be around working on something else.

I remember my first introduction to Catavino came shortly after I entered the wine blogging world, nearly five years ago. I took part in a Wine Blogging Wednesday about Spanish wine. Ryan disagreed with my take on tempranillo and left a comment on my blog to let me know that. I was like, “who the fuck is this guy?” I soon learned who he was, and Gabriella too. And I quickly grew to appreciate and admire everything they were doing with Catavino.

You two have shared a lot with all of us readers and you’ve been outstanding ambassadors for Iberian wine. I can’t wait to see what you do next.

Cheers!

J Roberts

Good luck! Look fwd to reading about the next Opai stage…

http://twitter.com/KovasP Kovas Palubinskas

Good luck with the new projects!

Oscar

I wish you the best luck for you both. Catavino has been making an amazing job promoting Iberian wine, food and culture. Probably no one no-related to Portugal or Spain has made so much for the wine business of these two countries as you did. And you did just because it came from your heart. Thank you Gabriella and Ryan.

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About Us

Catavino evolved from the wanderings of an American couple who craved a radical change in perspective.In 2005 they quit their jobs, moved to Spain and dug deep into the local gastronomy. As time passed, they expanded their focus to include Portugal, whereby sharing the heart and soul of Iberian food, wine and culture. We invite you to follow our adventures via our blog or, for those who'd like to experience Spanish and Portuguese gastronomy themselves, we'd like to offer you our firsthand tips on travel and our expertise in organizing food and wine tasting tours.